Manzai
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Manzai (
Manzai usually involves two performers (manzaishi)—a straight man (tsukkomi) and a funny man (boke)—trading jokes at great speed. Most of the jokes revolve around mutual misunderstandings, double-talk, puns and other verbal gags.
In recent times, manzai has often been associated with the Osaka region, and manzai comedians often speak in the Kansai dialect during their acts.
In 1933, Yoshimoto Kogyo, a large entertainment conglomerate based in Osaka, introduced Osaka-style manzai to Tokyo audiences and coined the term "
History[edit]
Originally based around a festival to welcome the New Year, manzai traces its origins back to the Heian period. The two manzai performers came with messages from the kami and this was worked into a standup routine, with one performer showing some sort of opposition to the word of the other. This pattern still exists in the roles of the boke and the tsukkomi.
![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/be/Manzai.jpg/220px-Manzai.jpg)
Continuing into the Edo period, the style focused increasingly on the humor aspects of stand-up, and various regions of Japan developed their own unique styles of manzai, such as Owari manzai (
With the end of the Taishō period, Yoshimoto Kōgyō—which itself was founded at the beginning of the era, in 1912—introduced a new style of manzai lacking much of the celebration that had accompanied it in the past. This new style proved successful and spread all over Japan, including Tokyo. Riding on the waves of new communication technology, manzai quickly spread through the mediums of stage, radio, and eventually, television, and video games.[3][4][5][6][7]
Etymology[edit]
The kanji for manzai have been written in various ways throughout the ages. It was originally written as lit. "ten thousand years" or banzai, meaning something like "long life" (
Boke and tsukkomi[edit]
Similar in execution to the concepts of "funny man" and "straight man" in double act comedy (e.g. Abbott and Costello), these roles are a very important characteristic of manzai. Boke (ボケ) comes from the verb bokeru (
The tradition of tsukkomi and boke is often used in other Japanese comedy, although it may not be as obviously portrayed as it usually is in manzai.[citation needed]
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Hanabishi Achako and Yokoyama Entatsu established the talk show-centered manzai style. They were active since 1919.
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"All Hanshin-Kyojin", active since 1975
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"Wagyu", active since 2006. Manzai actors often work as multi-talents.
Notable manzai acts[edit]
- Downtown
- Cocorico
- Takeshi Kitano; Japanese film director, television host, and former manzai performer in the group "Two Beat". Manzai is mentioned and referenced in a number of his other works.
- Gen Takagi
Literary associations[edit]
- Kikaku wrote with affectionate mockery a haiku on the manzai dancers: "The New Year Dancers / Never miss a single gate – / Millet for the crane".[9]
- Buson more positively wrote: "Yes, New Year's dancers – / Pounding good and properly, / The dirt in Kyoto".[10]
See also[edit]
- The Manzai Comics – manga series about a young manzai duo
- Double act
- Nininbaori
- Kyōgen
- Rakugo
- Owarai
- Xiangsheng – the Chinese analogue to manzai.
- Spark (
火花 ) – a 2015 novel about two manzai artists - Hibana (Spark) – a 2016 Netflix series adapted from the novel Spark
- M-1 Grand Prix – the most prevalent manzai competition in Japan
References[edit]
- ^ Blair, Gavin (2016). "What's Manzai?". Highlighting Japan June 2017. Public Relations Office of the Government of Japan. Retrieved 4 November 2019.
- ^ Kyodo, Jiji (17 July 2015). "Comedian Matayoshi's literary win offers hope for sagging publishing industry". The Japan Times. Archived from the original on 27 August 2015.
- ^ Hiragana lesson through Japanese culture – manzai
- ^ Manzai (Double-act comedy)
- ^ Japanese yose theater – Japanese comedy shows Archived 3 November 2007 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Corkill, Edan, "Yoshimoto Kogyo play reveals manzai's U.S. roots", Japan Times, 25 May 2012, p. 13
- ^ Ashcraft, Brian, "Ni no Kuni’s Funny Bone Has Quite the History", Kotaku, 5 October 2011
- ^ WWWJDIC Archived 3 January 2015 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ L Zolbrod, Haiku Painting (1982) p. 16
- ^ L Zolbrod, Haiku Painting (1982) p. 16
External links[edit]
![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/30px-Commons-logo.svg.png)
- What is Manzai 2015 archive
- "Commodified Comedians and Mediatized Manzai: Osakan Comic Duos and Their Audience" by Xavier Benjamin Bensky. A study in the cultural effects of manzai.